Perfect Fluffy Bakery Style Vanilla Muffins Recipe

Have a craving for fluffy vanilla muffins? I’ve got a super easy muffin recipe that can be dressed up with either vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste for the best flavor and fluffy texture, what you’d expect from the most perfect vanilla muffins. They are a perfect afternoon pick-me-up served with a shot of espresso.

You’re going to love keeping our Homemade Muffin Mix on hand so that you can make all kinds of variations. Sweet muffins are perfect for Make-Ahead Breakfasts and packing for afternoon snacks. Blueberry Muffins are a fun variation of this recipe as are my Double Berry Muffins with Ricotta Cheese. So good!

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For years muffins have been one of my go-to Good Cheap Eats. Early on in our debt-defying years, I developed a classic muffin recipe that I could dress up or down and vary the flavors so that a delicious muffin recipe was just minutes away. It felt like a trip to the bakery without the expense and hassle.

We could feast like kings on a pauper’s budget.

I even learned how to freeze muffins unbaked so that we could enjoy a variety of muffin recipes in one sitting without a lot of work! 

This easy Vanilla Muffins Recipe is my personal favorite these days. I tested a lot of different types of paste made from vanilla bean pods to find the classic vanilla flavor that really shines in these delicious vanilla muffins.

A luscious vanilla cake, topped with a vanilla glaze dotted with real vanilla beans is the best way to enjoy your muffin and eat it, too.

Why Make This

This recipe is easy. Start with the homemade muffin mix, a perfect base muffin recipe, and you can go in all kinds of flavor directions. This one mixes up with just a few cold ingredients like milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla paste.

These are delicious muffins. The best vanilla muffins, these are great served alongside a cup of coffee and some fresh fruit, such as juicy blueberries or sliced melon. They are also good slathered with your favorite jam.

They are cheaper than the bakery. If you love bakery-style muffins, the cheapest and easiest way to enjoy them is to bake them yourself! A batch of this simple vanilla muffins recipe costs less than $2/dozen, even accounting for the vanilla bean paste. You can afford to splurge and bake yourself happy with this recipe.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make these wholesome muffins:

milk – I use whole milk in this vanilla muffin recipe, but buttermilk works as well as almond milk.

vanilla yogurt – To up the vanilla flavor, I use vanilla yogurt, but if you’d like a richer flavor, you can substitute a bit of Greek yogurt or sour cream. Plain yogurt is a budget pantry staple in my opinion.

oil – I use neutral avocado oil to let the vanilla flavors shine more, but if you prefer, you can substitute melted unsalted butter or coconut oil for the vegetable oil.

eggs – Whole eggs add richness, but if you’d prefer the muffin to resemble very white vanilla cupcakes, you can substitute an equal amount of egg whites instead.

vanilla paste or vanilla extract – Vanilla extract is usually pretty cheap, but after testing this recipe many times we found that Mexican vanilla paste brought the most delicious vanilla flavor to these muffins. You can also substitute vanilla powder if that’s what you have.

Homemade Muffin Mix – Having the dry ingredients all ready for muffins makes it so easy to bake! My homemade muffin mix contains very simple ingredients, including both all purpose flour and whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Assemble several batches of the flour mixture to store at room temperature, each in its own airtight container for quick and easy muffin mornings.

powdered sugar – We tested these fluffy muffins topped with sanding sugar, vanilla sugar, white sugar, and a vanilla glaze. Our tester enjoyed the sweet glaze atop the crispy muffin top the best. If you prefer, you can also use streusel crumb topping instead.

Instructions

Here’s how to make Bakery Style Vanilla Muffins at home:

• Set the oven temperature to 375°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with parchment paper liners or decorative cupcake liners.
• In a large bowl combine the milk, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Whisk until well blended.
• Add the dry muffin mix to the wet ingredients. Fold the wet mixture just until combined. A few streaks of dry is okay!
• Using an ice cream scoop, divide the muffin batter among the cups in the muffin pan. It’s okay if the cups mound up a little bit. For best texture, let the batter rest for a few minutes prior to baking.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. The top of each muffin will be golden brown. Muffins are baked when they reach an internal temperature of 204 degrees. For best results test them with an instant-read thermometer instead of a toothpick.
• Cool the baked muffins on a wire cooling rack.
• While the muffins are cooling, combine the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla paste in a small bowl. Stir until smooth with a wooden spoon. Drizzle the icing over the muffin tops. Once set, serve or store for up to 3 days, at room temperature.

Variations

If you’d like to make mini muffins, adjust the baking time to 10 to 12 minutes. For jumbo muffins, increase the baking time to 35 minutes. I often make different sized muffins in the standard muffin pan. This recipe will make 24 small muffins, 18 medium sized muffins, and 12 large.

To freeze muffins: you can freeze the muffins unbaked, or cool them and store them, unglazed, in a large airtight container or ziptop freezer bag in the freezer. 

FAQs

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